The American Horsewoman

by Elizabeth Karr

To commence the English trot, the rider must collect her horse, as for the walk, and then, as he advances, keep a firm, even tension upon the snaffle-reins, because, in this trot, the animal will rely wholly upon his rider to support him and hold him to the pace, without the "give and take" movements of the hands required in the other gaits. It is not meant by this that a dead pull is to be made, but that the support must be firm and steady, with a proper correspondence between the bridle-hand and the horse's mouth. The elbows must be held steady and lightly near the rider's sides, but not close against them. As the horse extends his trot, an unpleasant roughness or jolting will be experienced, which will give an upward impetus to the rider's body; the moment she is conscious of this impetus, she must allow herself to be raised from her horse in regular time with his step or hoof-beats. In this trot, the horse will always have a leading foot, either the right or left, and the foot he leads with is the one to which the rider must rise,—rising when the leading foot is lifted, and touching the saddle when this foot touches the ground. Most riders do this instinctively, as it were, rising and falling with the leading foot.

In this rise the action of the horse alone will give the impetus; no effort must be made by the lady, except to press slightly, or rather to sustain herself gently upon the stirrup, and keep her knee and instep yielding and flexible with the rise. Care must be taken not to allow the leg to swing forward and backward. The rise should be made as straight upward as possible, the upper part of the body inclining forward no more than is necessary to effect the rise with ease. The back must be kept well curved, and the shoulders square to the front of the horse, without lifting them up, or rounding them in rising.

The leading foot of the horse is that fore-foot or leg with which he commences his advance in the gait; it will always be carried somewhat beyond its fellow, while, at the same time, that side of the animal's body which corresponds with the leading foot will be a little more advanced toward this foot, though almost imperceptibly so. Every rider should be taught to know with which foot her horse leads.

When a horse trots evenly and quickly, and with rather a short step, the rise in the saddle will be barely perceptible; but when he trots slowly and with a long step, the rise will have to be higher, in order that the rider may keep time with the slowness and length of his step. In this gait a tall woman will be very apt to prefer a long step to a short one.

In making the rise, the rider must never assist herself by pulling upon the reins, which should be held firm and low to give support to the horse alone, not allowing them to slip in the least from between the thumb and forefinger that should hold them steady.

The descent of the body to the saddle must be effected as gently as possible. The right knee should be pressed against the second pommel, and the left foot lean lightly upon the stirrup, the left foot and instep being kept yielding and flexible with the descent, and the body and right leg bearing[7] a little to the right. The descent should be made just in time to catch the next impetus of the horse's movement, so that the saddle will be hardly touched before the rider's body will again be thrown upward to make the rise.

It presents a very comical and inelegant appearance for a rider, whether man or woman, when attempting the rising trot, to elevate and protrude the shoulders, curve the back out so as to round it, lean forward toward the horse's ears, with elbows sticking out from the rider's sides and flopping like the wings of a restless bird, while the body is bobbing up and down like a dancing-jack, out of all time with the movements of the animal. One reason why some persons are so awkward in the rise is that they sit too far back upon the saddle. This obliges them to sustain themselves upon the stirrup obliquely, thus causing them to lean too far forward in order to accomplish the rise more easily. Another cause of awkwardness in the rising trot is an improperly constructed saddle. The seat or platform should be as nearly level as a properly made saddle will permit. When the front part or arch is much higher than the seat, it will be difficult to use the second pommel as a point of support for the right knee, which support is highly essential during the descent, in this trot. It is a common thing to see riders exaggerate the rise by pressing hard upon the stirrup and supporting themselves by the reins, thus rising higher than necessary, and coming down with a heavy thump upon the saddle; to which equestrian gymnastics they give the name of "English trot."

When rising and descending in the English trot, the left leg, from knee to instep, must be held perpendicular and steady; the foot, from toe to heel, must rest horizontally in the stirrup, and in a line with the horse's side. The foot should not be allowed to turn out, nor the leg to swing backward and forward: if the foot be pointed out, this will tend to carry the body and leg too much toward the left, on the rise; and, if the leg be allowed to swing, it will cause the rider to lose the rhythm of the trot. Again, the stirrup must not be too strongly pressed upon, as this will throw all the rider's weight upon the left side, and may cause the saddle to turn. On making the rise, great care must be taken not to advance the left shoulder, nor to turn the body to the left; many riders do these things with the idea that they will enable them to rise with more ease. But this is an error, for such movements will not only occasion fatigue, but will also render the rein-hold unsteady, and the action of the foot and knee uncertain. The body and shoulders must always be square to the front when the horse is trotting straight forward, the body remaining as erect as the action of the horse will allow.

To stop a well-trained horse in this gait, it will simply be necessary for the rider to cease rising, sit down to the saddle, and gradually loosen the reins. Many horses, however, are trained to make the stop in the usual way, by having the reins tightened. The advance and the turns are to be conducted in the same manner as that described for the walk.

In the English trot, the horse must be kept well up to his gait; should he appear to move heavily or disunitedly the reins must be gradually shortened, and the animal be collected. Should he step short, in a constrained manner, the reins must be gradually lengthened, to give him more freedom. If he break into a gallop when it is desired that he should trot, he must be gradually reined in to a walk, and then be started again upon a trot, and this course must be repeated until he obeys, stopping him every time he attempts to gallop, and then starting the trot anew. If he trot too rapidly, he must be checked, by bracing the bridle-hand and increasing the pull upon the reins. If the trot be too slow, the hand must relax the reins a little, and the horse be animated by the voice, and by gentle taps with the whip. To regulate the trot, to keep it smooth and harmonious, to rein in the horse gently without rendering him unsteady, and then gradually to yield the hand so that he may move forward again in a regular manner, are very difficult points for beginners to accomplish while still keeping up the proper support upon the bit, and will require study and considerable practice.